Sole positioning device



'March 21, 1944. I BAZZQN] 2,344,531

SOLE POSITIONING DEVICE Filed Sept. 21,. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 21, 19 L, J. BAZZONI 2,344,531

SOLE POSITIONING DEVICE Filed Sent. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 xgi ///////J 3 I n O 46 64 58 60 70 5 M 63 63 69 54 /NVE/VTL7% Patented Mar. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 United Shoe Machinery Corporation,

Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 21, 1942, Serial No. 459,160

9 Claims. (CI. 12-17) This invention relates to sole positioning devices and is herein illustrated and described as embodied in a device for positioning a sole both longitudinally and laterally with reference to instrumentalities for performing an operation upon the sole. In many operations such as shank reducing or lip cutting and scoring it is customary to gage the sole from its toe or heel end inrelation to the operating tool. United States Letters Patent No. 2,088,051 granted July 27, 1937, on the application of William C. Card, Jr., discloses a machine for cutting out skeleton insoles wherein the sole is gaged from its toe end. However, in many of these operations the gaging of the sole from the ball line would be preferable. In soles of the same length but of difierent styles, the position of the ball line varies considerably in relation to the ends of the sole. Consequently the best result is not always obtained by gaging the sole from its toe or heel end.

It is an object of this invention to provide a gage for positioning a sole relatively to its ball line. In accordance with a feature of the invention the illustrated device is provided with an element which yieldably engages the edge of the sole while the sole is being moved to gaged position, this element being responsive to the local direction of the sole edge and being operable to stop the further movement of the sole when a predetermined direction of the sole edge has been reached. Lateral yielding of the sole under the influence of the pressure of the direction-responsive element is resisted by a fixed guide engageable with the other edge of the sole. Inasmuch as the greatest curvature or change of direction occurs on the inner edge 01 the sole, the direction-responsive element is applied to that edge. A11 soles of the same style, regardless of size, have approximately the same local direction at the ball line; and consequently if the gage is set to stop the movement of the sole for that local direction the sole will be gaged with reference to its ball line. The above mentioned element, as shown herein, consists of a pair of spaced contact members mounted on a pivotally supported carrier. When both members engage the sole the angular position of the carrier will respond to the local direction of the sole edge. Means are provided to stop both the turning and the lateral yielding of the carrier when the desired local direction has been reached. Inasmuch as the sole is held positively against the pressure of these contact members, it can be moved no further when the contact members are thus stopped positively.

These and other features of the invention will be disclosed as embodied in an illustrative device and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side view in cross section of a machine equipped with the improved gaging device;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine and the device; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the gaging device.

For purposes of illustration the improved gaging device is shown herein as applied to a machine for cutting skeleton insoles from a rounded sole blank. The supporting structure of the ma chine consists of a frame l0 which carries a pair of matrix rolls l2 and i4. As a sole S advances between the matrix rolls it engages a stationary knife I6 which cuts material from the forepart of the sole in accordance with the design of the matrices. The sole rests upon a work table I8. and after being gaged by the device presently to be described, it is advanced to the matrix rolls by a pair of feed rolls 20 and 22. While the sole is being gaged, the feed rolls 20 and 22 are maintained separated, and the feed rolls and the matrix rolls are stationary. After the sole has been gaged the feed rolls are brought together by springs 24 and 26 under control of a handle 28 and the drive of the machine is then started to cause the matrix rolls to operate upon the sole when the sole has been advanced a predetermined distance from its gaged position. For a more complete disclosure of this machine, reference may be had to Letters Patent No. 2,088,051 above mentioned.

In the machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,088,051 the sole is fed to the matrix rolls heel-end first, whereas in the machine disclosed herein the sole, for reasons later to be pointed out, is fed toe-end first. Such change in the direction of feed will involve changing the design of the matrices accordingly.

The improved gaging device will now be described. A straight edged guide 30 is provided for engaging the outer edge of the sole S. This guide is pivotally mounted upon a pin 32 set into the work table. tension 34 in which i formed an arcuate slot 36 concentric with the pin 32. A clamping screw 38 extending through the slot 36 enables the guide 30 to be secured in any desired position of angular adjustment about its pivot.

For engaging the inner edge of the sole there are provided a pair of contact rolls 40 and 42 which are freely rotatable in a carrier 44. A pin The guide has a lateral ex-= 48 secures the carrier upon a slide 48, the carrier being pivoted upon the pin for turning movement. Extending upwardly from the slide 48 through an arcuate slot in the carrier 44 concentric with the pivot 46 is a pin 56. A tension spring 51, secured at one end to the pin 56 and at its other end to the carrier, urges the carrier in a counterclockwise direction toward a stop position determined by the engagement of the pin 56 with the left hand end of the arcuate slot. The slide 48 is movable in a guideway formed in a bracket 50, this guideway extending laterally of the sole to enable the gage rolls 40 and '42 to be advanced against the sole and to yield laterally in accordance with the contour of the sole edge. Extending from the slide 48 is a lug 52 which is engaged by one end of a compression spring 54 which urges the slide 48 toward the right, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3. The spring 54 surrounds and is guided by a rod 58 secured to the abutment 52; The opposite end of the spring 54 bears againstan abutment 59 which, for purposes of adjustment, is carried upon the end of a screw 60 threaded through an upstanding lug 62 on the bracket 50. The rod 58 passes loosely through and is guided by an axial bore in. the screw 60. A head 63 on thescrew B facilitates the turning of the screw to adjust the compression of the spring. The. slide 48 has a longitudinal slot 64 through which extends a stationary pin 66 secured in the bracket 50.

A ratchet 68 having a row of teeth 19 extending parallel to the slide 48 is carried by the bracket 50. For purposes of adjustment, the ratchet has a slide -12 which engages a guideway 14 extending longitudinally with reference to the sole. A pair of clamping screws l6 extending through slots 18 formed in the slide enable the ratchet to be secured in its adjusted position. Integral with the carrier 44 .and extending there from is a pawl 80 which, when the carrier is rotated clockwise in opposition to the spring T, will engage the ratchet 68 to limit further clockwise rotation of the carrier and also to lock the slide 48 in its guideway to prevent lateral movement of the carrier. 7

To gage-a sole by the above described device the toe end of the sole is first inserted between the separated feed rolls 20 and 22; and the sole is then moved in the direction of its heel end. with its outer. edge against the guide 30. While the heel portion of the sole is opposite the rolls 49 and 42, the stop pin 66 may hold the carrier in the position shown in Fig. 3 with neither of the rolls 48 or 42 engaging the edge of the sole; or the edge of the sole may engage the roll 42 and cause a slight clockwise rotation of the carrier from stopped position. Such slight rotation, however, will not be enough to bring the roll 40 into contact with the sole. The spring 51 is weaker than the spring 54 to insure rotational yielding of the carrier 44, rather than lateral yielding of the slide 48, upon engagement of the roll 42 by the shoe. The slide will not, therefore, yield laterally until both rolls are engaged by the sole. As the movement of the sole continues, the increasing width of the sole forward of the shank will cause both rolls to engage the edge. The local direction of the sole edge at this point is sharply inclined in relation to the longitudinal axis of the sole, and the pawl 80 will therefore be free of the ratchet teeth 18. As the movement of the sole progresses the angle becomes less until it reaches a value which will cause the pawl to engage the ratchet, thereby stopping both rotary and lateral yielding movement of the carrier. The locked rolls 40 and 42 and the straight edge guide '30 prevent further rearward movement of the sole, and the sole is thus stopped in its gaged position. The operator now releases the handle 28 and starts the drive of the machine whereupon the feed rolls 2t and 22 will advance the sole to the matrix rolls, and the knife 16 will perform its operation.

For soles of various characteristics the straight edge guide 30 may be adjusted to different angles; it will be noted, however, that the adjustment takes place only on one side of a line parallel to the direction of feed to avoid any danger of the guide interfering with the feed. The angle of the edge guide may be varied to compensate for variations in the widths of the heel seats of soles. Soles having a marked degree of swing have hitherto required the use of matrices skewed in relation to the axes of the matrix rolls. The provision in the gage disclosed herein for adjustment of the angle of the edge gage enables the matrices for such soles to be out less askew.

The angle at which the carrier 44 may be locked by the pawl may be varied by adjusting the ratchet slide 16 backward or forward in its guideway after loosening the clamping screws 16. This adjustment enables the locking position of the contact rolls 40 and 42 to be set in proper relation to the edge guide for all possible variations of sole styles.

The operator, having once obtained by trial the proper angular setting of the edge guide and the contact rolls to bring a sole into desired relation to the matrix, will find that he can keep this angular setting for all sizes of the same style of sole. He will not need to-sort the soles according to size and then readjust the gage for each difierent size. Furthermore, the adjustment of the gage for any one style will often serve for similar styles. In the general use of thegage relatively little changing of the adjustment of the gage will be found necessary. The reason for this is that, when properly adjusted as above described, the gage disclosed herein positions the sole with the ball line of the sole in definite relation to the ball line of the matrix. The'critical direction of the sole edge occurs at the ball line, and this direction is fairly constant for soles of diilerent styles and sizes. When the gage is' properly adjusted the sole will be stopped with the ball line between the contact rolls 40 and 42. If the soles were to begaged from their heel ends, or their toe ends, soles of different styles and sizes would not come into ball line register with the matrix unless the operator has made a proper setting of the gage for each size and style.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A device for gaging a sole longitudinally in relation to the curvature of one of its edges, comprising a mechanism engageable progressively with diiierent portions of the edge of a sole and responsive to the local direction of an edge of the sole as the sole edge progresses relatively to said mechanism, means for yieldably holding said direction-responsive mechanism against the edge of the sole, positive means for holding the sole against the pressure of said direction-responsive mechanism, and means actuated by said direction-responsive mechanism for holding the direction-responsive mechanism against further yielding when a predetermined direction of the sole edge has been reached, thereby preventing further relative progress of the sole and thus stopping the sole in its gaged position.

2. A device for gaging a sole longitudinally in relation to the curvature of one of its edges, comprising a gage engageable progressively with different portions of the edge of a sole and responsive to the local direction of an edge of the sole, a support upon which said gage may turn in accordance with the direction of the sole edge as the sole edge progresses relatively along the gage, means for yieldably holding the gage against the sole edge, means for holding the sole positively against the pressure of the gage while enabling the sole to progress relatively to the gage, and means responsive to the rotation of the gage for stopping further yielding of the gage, thereby preventing further progress of the sole and thus stopping the sole in its gaged position.

3. A device for gaging a sole longitudinally in relation to the curvature of one of its edges, comprising a guide for one edge of the sole, a pivotally mounted gage constructed and arranged for two-point contact with the other edge of the sole, means for yieldably holding said gage in two point contact with the sole as the sole progresses relatively to the gage, and means actuated by the gage as it turns in accordance with the direction of the sole edge for locking the gage against further yielding, thereby preventing further relative progress of the sole edge and stopping the sole in gaged position.

4. A device for gaging a sole longitudinally in relation to its ball line, comprising a guide for the outer edge of the sole, a pair of spaced gage members for engaging the inner edge or the sole, a carrier for said gage members, a pivotal support about which said carrier may turn in accordance with the direction of the sole edge as the two-point contact of the gage members progresses relatively along the sole edge, means for yieldably holding the gage members against the sole edge, and means for locking said carrier to prevent further yielding of the gage members when a desired angular position has been reached, thereby preventing further progress of the sole relatively to the gage members and thus stopping the sole in gaged position.

5. A device for gaging a sole longitudinally in relation to its ball line, comprising a support along which a sole may be slid, a guide for the outer edge of the sole, a gage responsive to the local direction of the inner edge of the sole, a pivotal support about which said gage may turn in accordance with the direction of the sole edge as the gage progresses relatively along the sole edge, a slide upon which the pivotal support is mounted, a guideway for said slide extending transversely of the direction in which the sole is guided by said outer edge guide, resilient means for urging the gage to turn about said pivotal support, resilient means for urging said slide toward the sole, and means responsive to the rotation of the gage for stopping further rotation at a predetermined angular position and also for stopping the movement of the slide in its guideway, thereby preventing further progress of the sole and thus stopping the sole in its gaged position.

6. A device for gaging a sole longitudinall in relation to its ball line, comprising a support along which a sole may be slid, a guide for the outer edge of the sole, a pair of spaced gage members for engaging the inner edge of the sole, a carrier for said gage members, a pivotal support about which said carrier may turn in accordance with the direction of the sole edge as the two-point contact of the gage members progresses relatively along the sole edge, a slide upon which said pivotal support is mounted, a guideway for said slide extending transversely of the direction in which the sole is guided by said outer edge guide, a spring for urging said carrier to a stop position of rotation about said pivotal support, a spring for urging said slide toward the sole to a stop position, a pawl on the carrier, and a stationary ratchet engageable by said pawl to stop rotation of the carrier and also to stop the slide at a predetermined position of rota tion of the carrier, thereby preventing further progress of the sole relatively to the gage members and thus stopping the sole in gaged position.

'7. A device for gaging a sole longitudinally in relation to its ball line, comprising a mechanism engageable progressively with difierent portions of the edge of a sole and responsive to the local direction of an edge of the sole as the sole progresses relatively to said mechanism, means for yieldably holding said direction-responsive mechanism against the edge of the sole, a straightedged guide for the other edge of the sole, a pivotal support for said guide, means for securing said guide in a desired position of angular adjustment to hold the sole against the pressure of said direction-responsive mechanism, and means actuated by said direction-responsive mechanism for holding the direction-responsive mechanism against further yielding when a predetermined direction of the sole edge has been reached, thereby preventing further progress of the sole and thus stopping th sole in its gage position.

8. In a sole machine, means for operating on a sole, and a gage engageable with the edge of a sole and responsive to the curvature of said edge for positioning the sole longitudinally with the ball line of the sole in a desired relation to said operating means.

9. In a sole machine, means for operating on a sole, and a gage adapted for engagement with the edge of a sole which is moved longitudinally in contact with said gage, the gage behind responsive to the local direction of a sole edge in the vicinity of the ball line and means operated by said gage when a desired direction of the sole edge has been reached for stopping further movement of the sole to position the sole longitudinally in a desired relation to said operating means.

LEWIS J. BAZZONI.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,51%551. March 21, 191 1;.

LEWIS J'. BAZZONI.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, line 55, claim 9, for "behind" re d -being-; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of June, A. D. 1911,14.-

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

